Capra's Its a Wonderful Life is without a doubt one of the all time feel-good movies. It's not feel good in the way that, say, a cheap Lifetime movie is feel good, it's not some phoney baloney optimism like Pay it Forward, it is real, true, and honest. It is also, without a doubt, the greatest Christmas film ever made.
Yes, your inner child says "Not it's not, that would be A Christmas Story, thank you very much!" and your inner cynic wants to laugh the whole thing off and say that Lethal Weapon is the greatest Christmas movie. Both wrong. This film is the best holiday film of all time for quite a number of reasons. Not How the Grinch Stole Christmas, not Die Hard, It's a Wonderful Life.
The film manages to succeed on so many level because it is fearless. From the first act, it deals with subject matter and themes that are much darker than you expect to see in a holiday film. It is because of this courage, the bravery to start at such a low point, that the movie is so triumphantly positive. Heck, the movie's second act starts with an attempted suicide!
Capra starts Stewart's George Bailey at such an incredibly low, sad, dark point that it is truly heroic and triumphant to watch him climb from there. Any director can keep it positive by just never facing the hero with any challenge, but Bailey is beset on all sides by the tyranny of evil men, he's put up against the world and told to make it alone. He starts low and ends on a high note.
This film and Rocky rank as the all time great "Tears of Joy" films. If you're not crying by the end, then sorry, but there's probably something wrong with you, no offense. The film is simply so human, so humane, yet so honest, that it can't help but dash any trace of negativity and pessimism you might have been feeling when it began.
What many people don't know is that the film just completely flopped upon release. Capra has always been a popular director who could rake in a lot of money for the studios, and this one flopped so bad that it almost sank his career. Luckily, the movie eventually made a killing, becoming an all time best seller on video and DVD, and always raking in a lot of viewership when it plays on cable each year.
Another interesting point: Film legend has it that Stewart was the director's only choice for the lead, but in fact, his first choice had been the other legendary nice guy of the screen, Henry Fonda. Fonda could have turned in an incredible performance, but Stewart really plays the character of a lifetime in George Bailey.
There were actually several alternative endings written, and one or two filmed. If you've ever seen the Saturday Night Live episode where Bailey leads the whole town to Potter's home to give him his comeuppance... That was actually based on an ending that was filmed by Capra! The one filmed for the movie probably wasn't quite as goofy, but nevertheless, it WAS filmed!
Yes, your inner child says "Not it's not, that would be A Christmas Story, thank you very much!" and your inner cynic wants to laugh the whole thing off and say that Lethal Weapon is the greatest Christmas movie. Both wrong. This film is the best holiday film of all time for quite a number of reasons. Not How the Grinch Stole Christmas, not Die Hard, It's a Wonderful Life.
The film manages to succeed on so many level because it is fearless. From the first act, it deals with subject matter and themes that are much darker than you expect to see in a holiday film. It is because of this courage, the bravery to start at such a low point, that the movie is so triumphantly positive. Heck, the movie's second act starts with an attempted suicide!
Capra starts Stewart's George Bailey at such an incredibly low, sad, dark point that it is truly heroic and triumphant to watch him climb from there. Any director can keep it positive by just never facing the hero with any challenge, but Bailey is beset on all sides by the tyranny of evil men, he's put up against the world and told to make it alone. He starts low and ends on a high note.
This film and Rocky rank as the all time great "Tears of Joy" films. If you're not crying by the end, then sorry, but there's probably something wrong with you, no offense. The film is simply so human, so humane, yet so honest, that it can't help but dash any trace of negativity and pessimism you might have been feeling when it began.
What many people don't know is that the film just completely flopped upon release. Capra has always been a popular director who could rake in a lot of money for the studios, and this one flopped so bad that it almost sank his career. Luckily, the movie eventually made a killing, becoming an all time best seller on video and DVD, and always raking in a lot of viewership when it plays on cable each year.
Another interesting point: Film legend has it that Stewart was the director's only choice for the lead, but in fact, his first choice had been the other legendary nice guy of the screen, Henry Fonda. Fonda could have turned in an incredible performance, but Stewart really plays the character of a lifetime in George Bailey.
There were actually several alternative endings written, and one or two filmed. If you've ever seen the Saturday Night Live episode where Bailey leads the whole town to Potter's home to give him his comeuppance... That was actually based on an ending that was filmed by Capra! The one filmed for the movie probably wasn't quite as goofy, but nevertheless, it WAS filmed!
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